Chapter 138: Holy Fusion Ritual
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 138: Holy Fusion Ritual
After several probing exchanges, Raphael finally realized something was wrong.
Thanatos was only Level 126. Logically, his Death Shelter shouldn't be able to directly negate a lethal attack from a Level 150 opponent.
To be precise, it wasn't Death Shelter at all.
It was an unequal death substitution, executed using a True God-level Authority of Death as a bridge!
The players didn't care about dying for him.
Compared to the chance to join the Wheel of Fate, death was nothing more than losing levels and resources. At worst, they would lose everything and start over.
As long as they could secure a chance to join the Wheel of Fate, it would all be worth it.
Realizing the gravity of the situation, Raphael frowned.
"This isn't right... If that's the case, then Gabriel and the others..."
In the next instant, the Soul-Breaking Heavy Sword, shrouded in the power of the void, swung down in a direct, unadorned frontal strike!
Raphael shifted his weight, raising his pitch-black heavy sword to parry.
"Finally decided to get serious?"
Taro Ball’s voice was calm, bordering on cold.
Raphael’s pitch-black eyes narrowed slightly. For the first time, he looked directly at this human whose aura wasn't even half as strong as his own.
"Interesting..."
A second later, Yu Yunsheng raised her silver staff high.
Without a single word of prayer or blessing, a blood-red Mark of Sin was carved directly onto Raphael’s obsidian wings.
Raphael looked down, staring at the expanding crimson fissure on his wing.
He tried to channel Holy power to heal it...
It was useless.
"It won't heal? No, wait... even my mana is..."
In the next heartbeat, a colossal force capable of shattering mountains and rending the earth slammed into him from the front!
Raphael snapped his head up.
Behind Maomao, the phantoms of ten Undead Behemoths were overlapping.
Her slender arms carried hundreds of billions of points of pure physical power as she punched Raphael squarely in the chest!
"Ais."
"On it!"
Aisarakus appeared at Maomao’s side.
The two "stat monsters" threw their full weight into a combined punch, blowing Raphael’s wings wide open!
In the opening, Taro Ball didn't forget to use an area-of-effect skill, pulling the distant Gabriel and Samael into the same aggro system.
Relying on the "Suppression" affix of the Reaper class, all three Archangels were plunged into a predicament where they could recover neither HP nor Mana.
Combined with the infinitely refreshing Death Substitution Contracts, Thanatos and his group were actually fighting the Level 150 Archangels to a standstill—and were even starting to gain the upper hand.
Watching this scene from below, Cecilia felt her world-view being shattered.
"Holy... are they really that strong?"
But soon, Cecilia realized a problem.
"Wait, why are there only three Archangels in the fight? I remember there being four..."
A moment later, Cecilia found her answer.
The two blue-haired girls who had been piloting mechas and mowing down enemies earlier—the Two Little Ones—were currently sitting with a small, blonde child...
Playing cards?
Looking at the soft, rounded wings behind the blonde child, Cecilia gasped instinctively.
Cherub Uriel.
The youngest of all the angels.
At that moment, he was clutching a heavy tome that seemed to flow with liquid gold, playing a card game Cecilia had never seen before with the Two Little Ones.
As if he had hit a stalemate, Uriel tilted his small head to the side.
Seeing this, the Two Little Ones grinned triumphantly.
"Looks like you're going to lose."
"Just give up and hand over the stakes."
"No."
Uriel looked up.
Looking somewhat drowsy, he blinked his pure golden eyes and looked down at the golden book cover.
The "stakes" the Two Little Ones mentioned was the golden tome in Uriel’s arms.
"This book was a gift from the Master."
He sighed softly.
"It’s very expensive."
After refusing, he looked up at the sky.
The battlefield had reached a deadlock.
The Angel Race, facing the charge of the Northern Empire, was actually showing signs of faltering.
Seeing this, Uriel sighed again.
"Fine. Since you want it so badly, I’ll give it to you. Just make sure you take good care of it."
With that, Uriel stood up.
The Two Little Ones were stunned.
"Huh?"
"Why the sudden change of heart?"
Uriel turned around.
"We made a bet with the Pope of the Holy Church—to be precise, we signed a contract. If even the noble Angel Race cannot deal with the pests on the Master's territory, we will voluntarily surrender our power to him..."
Uriel paused for a moment.
"By the way, playing with you... was fun."
Before the Two Little Ones could react, a golden wave of light suddenly descended upon the battlefield.
Seeing this, Gabriel’s twelve wings began to tremble.
He violently thrust out his strongest light spear, forcing Thanatos back to create distance.
"This is bad... the contract..."
His elegant, composed demeanor was gone. His pure white hair hung disheveled over his shoulders, and beads of sweat formed on his brow.
Right now, all he wanted was to flee this place!
However, the golden light falling from the sky did not let him go.
Gabriel’s body froze instantly, imprisoned along with the other three Archangels.
"To think that even the exalted Angels have days where they break their word and fear death."
A figure slowly emerged from the air.
He wore broad, platinum robes and possessed pure golden eyes and a face so peaceful it bordered on merciful.
The Holy Pope, Virgilis.
He had finally appeared.
Gabriel turned sharply, his voice carrying a hint of panic he had never felt before.
"Virgilis! We miscalculated this time! It was our failure! You—you come back to the Heavenly Domain with us now. After we regroup, we can..."
"There is no need."
Virgilis interrupted Gabriel, his voice remaining calm.
"From the moment the Innate Light appeared within my daughter and you all made excuses and procrastinated, I ceased to hold any hope for you."
He raised his hand.
The four Archangels were completely frozen in mid-air.
"From the very beginning, I never intended to let anyone leave this place."
He made a sharp pulling motion.
The most fundamental power within the angels was stripped away by an irresistible contractual force, surging out of their bodies and converging toward Virgilis’s raised palm.
[Holy Fusion Ritual]
[Acquired - Seraph Gabriel Lv.150]
[Acquired - Virtue Angel Raphael Lv.150]
[Acquired - Throne Angel Samael Lv.150]
[Acquired - Cherub Uriel Lv.150]
[Acquired - High-Level Angels Lv.120 * 120]
[- Authorization from four Archangels acquired. Fusion permitted -]
"Rather than placing hope in others, it is better to bet all the stakes on oneself."
As he spoke, massive rings of light rose from the ground.
All the angelic power surged into Virgilis’s body at the same instant.
On the battlefield, everyone’s gaze was involuntarily drawn to the figure currently undergoing ascension.
Within the radiance, a golden silhouette of absolute purity was slowly taking shape.